Sunday, July 24, 2011

Lemon Tart

I did it, I made a tart! Twice in fact…

To make my lemon tart I had to make a short crust pastry for the base which I had never done before. My first attempt was a bit of a fail – it shrunk away from the sides of the tart pan and didn’t really crisp up. I thought that this may have been from my pastry being too wet and wanted to give it another go as the lemon filling was delicious and I couldn’t have it presented in stink pastry. The second attempt was very successful; I used less water in the pastry and this made all the difference. I had a beautiful pastry that didn’t shrink when cooked. The next day I was watching TV and a chef was making a tart; I felt pretty proud when he rolled out his pastry to go in his tin and I could say that that was what mine had looked like!

Using a 22cm fluted removable base tart tin or ring, prepare and bake your short crust pastry as directed in the short crust pastry post. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 140°C.Place the lemon juice and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the cream and eggs and stir constantly for 5 minutes over the heat ensure the mixture does not boil (remove from the heat for a bit if it gets too hot). Pour into the tart shell through a strainer. Bake the tart for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is just set. Cool completely and serve with whipped cream or ice cream.